Liquid moving apparatus



Dec. 23, 1958 N. LAING LIQUID MOVING APPARATUS Filed Dec. l, 1955 N ;Ko\dus Lacnj I 5 9" mmmssm 4 .llllllflflalillvf Ill!!'lllllltlllllrnllllllvl,

United States Patent() LIQUID MOVING APPARATUS Nikolaus Laing,Stuttgart, Germany Application December 1, 1955, Serial No. 550,444

Claims priority, application Germany September 13, 1950 6 Claims. (Cl.10S- 53) The present invention relates to pumps.

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending applicationSerial No. 245,690 led November 24, 1952, now abandoned and thecopending application Serial No. 410,887, filed February 17, 1954, nowabandoned, which is a continuation of the forementioned abandonedapplication.

Certain known pumps, such as piston displacement pumps, for example, arecapable of very eilciently pumping liquids where very high pressures arerequired. Other types of pumps such as motor driven pumps are capable ofvery eiciently pumping a high volume of liquid at relatively lowpressure. However, neither of these pumps is capable of eicientlypumping relatively small volumes of liquid at relatively low pressures.Although certain motor driven pumps have been provided for this purpose,these conventional pumps have the disadvantage of requiring a veryspecial seal to seal the connection between the drive shaft and themotor from the liquid which is pumped. Where these motors are very smallso much friction is lost in the seal itself that the pump operates at avery low efficiency. Furthermore it is very diicult to provide withpumps of this latter type a sealing material which is capable of beingused with all types of liquids, so that these pumps work best only withcertain liquids and do not have a flexi- Ibility which would be desired.

One of the objects of the present invention is to` overcome the abovedrawbacks by providing a pump which is capable of eiciently displacing arelatively small volume of liquid at a relatively low pressure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pump which iscapable of being used with many different liquids because the pump isnot provided with any seal which will be attacked by some liquids andnot others.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pump which hasa casing a part of which can be removed in such a way that the pump mayserve the additional purpose of simply mixing a fluid or performing asimilar function rather than pumping.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a pump whichis capable of moving a liquid displacing means simply in response toexcitation from an alternating source of current.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide in a pumpof the above type a very efcient liquid displacing means which is of `anexceedingly simple construction.

Also, the objects of the present invention include the provision of apump structure capable of accomplishing all of the above objects and atthe same time being cornposed of simple an-d ruggedly constructedelements which are very reliable in operation and which may be veryeasily assembled and disassembled.

With the above objects in view the present invention mainly consists ofa pump which includes' an elongated tube means having an inlet end andan outlet end and ICC having a chamber communicating with the outlet endthereof. An oscillating means is carried by the tube means adjacent theoutlet end thereof and defines part of the chamber of the tube means. Ashaft is fixed to the oscillating means to be reciprocated along itsaxis thereby and extends from the oscillating means along the interiorof the tube means to a point adjacent the inlet end of the tube means. Aliquid displacing means is fixed to the shaft in the interior of thetube means adjacent its inlet to reciprocate with the shaft in order todisplace liquid along the interior of the tube means from its inlet toits outlet.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for, theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specic embodimentswhen read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an elevational partly sectional and partly diagrammatic Viewof a pump constructed according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a partly sectional elevational View of another embodiment of apump according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevational fragmentary view showing the structureof the pump adjacent its inlet end and showing the structure of adisplacing means which displaces liquid in the pump; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines IV--IV of Fig. 3 in thedirection of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that the pump structureillustrated therein is portable and is adapted to be inserted throughthe opening of a container into the interior of the latter for pumping aliquid from the interior of such container. As is :apparent from Fig. l,the pump illustrated in this iigure has a handle at its top end, thishandle accommodating an electrical lead which may be connected to anysuitable source of alternating current. Also this handle is providedwith a manually operable switch for turning the pump on and off. Thehandle of the pump is carried by a tube means for conducting liquidalong the interior of this tube means. This tube means includes aportion 1 in the form of a chamber located beneath the handle andcommunicating with an outlet 10 of the tube means. Any suitable hose ofpipe may Ibe connected to the outlet 10 for directing liquid away fromthe pump. The chamber 1 has removably connected thereto an elongatedtube 3 of the tube means, the bottom end of this tube 3 being open andbeing provided with cutouts 9, so that the bottom end portion of thetube 3 serves as the inlet for the tube means 10, 1, 3. The elongatedtube 3 of this tube means is threadedly connected to the chamber 1through the `medium of an annular internally threaded ring 4 having atits bottom end an inwardly extending flange which overlaps an outwardlyextending flange carried by the tube 3. This llange of the tube 3 restsagainst the bottom end face of the chamber 1 and the threaded ring 4 isthreadedly connected to the chamber 1 in the manner indicated in Fig. l`for iixing the tube 3 to the chamber 1.

The tube means carries at the chamber 1an electrical oscillating meanswhich is excited by the alternatlng source of current. This electricaloscillating means includes a winding 20 which is located about a core19` in which an upper end portion of a shaft 6 is slidable. The core 19is fixed to a bottom annular stop 23 which forms part of the abovedescribed solenoid structure. An arm-ature 2 is adapted to` beoscillated when the solenoid is excited by alternating current, and thisarmature 2 thus is fixed to the shaft 6 in the manner indicated in Fig.1.`

Patented Dec. 23, 1958l AspringfZlis coiled'about the armature 2, bearsagainst theflange thereof, and bears against'the stop 23,' soasto shaft6' is operativelyconnected to the'oscillating means to'be'reciprocatedby the oscillating means'along the axis ofthe shaft 6. p

The above describedoscillating means is located in av housing whichislocated' in and' defines part of the chamber 8 formedby the portion 1'ofthe tube means, The housing has a bottom wall formed with an openingthrough which the shaft 6 slidably extends, and a .seal in theform of abellows 7 is fixed at one end to the housing'of the oscillating meansand at'its opposite end to the shaft'6 so that in this way the interiorof the oscillating meansl which is operatively connected to the shaft 6is sealed off from the liquid which moves along the .interior of thetube means. It will be noted that the shaft 6 docs not frictionally rub.against the seal, as is the case where a pump shaftis driven by-'amotor, so that with the structure of the invention there is no fricntion loss to reduce the eficiency of the pump.

Adjacent .the inlet end of the tube 3, the shaft 6 carries aliquiddisplacing'means 5 which reciprocates with the shaft 6 and is located inthe interior of the tube means in order to displace liquid along theinterior of the tube means from its inlet' to its outlet.The'construction of theliquid displacing means will be described belowin detail with respect to Fig. 3.

Furthermore, a valve 4 is fixed in the interior of the tube 3 below theliquid displacing means 5 between the latter and the inlet of the tubemeans. The details of the valve 4 also will. be described below inconnection with Fig. 3. This valve 4 has a central hub portion providedwith an elongated bore into which the lower free end of the shaft 6slidably extends so that in this way the shaft 6 is guided forreciprocating movement alongV its axis.

When the 'bottom end portion of the structure of Fig. l is set into abody of liquid and the oscillating means is connected to a source ofalternating current to be excited thereby, thelreciprocatingliquiddisplacing means 5 will pump` the liquid along the interior of the tubemeans 10, 1, 3 from its inlet end to its outlet end. It should befurther noted that'if the ring 4 is unthrea'ded from the chamber 1, thetube 3 may be removed and in this event only the liquid displacing means5 can be located in a body of. liquid so that the shaft 6 may then bereciprocated to oscillate the liquid displacing means 5 which underthese circumstances will simply act in order to agitate a liquid for anydesired purpose.

According to the embodiment of the invention which is shown in Fig. 2,the oscillating means indicated with the numeral 2 is provided with acylindrical portion 13 having annular grooves formed in its outersurface. This cylindrical portion 13 is in the nature of a pistonhaving4 a fairly tight sliding lit in the chamber portion ofthe tubemeans shown in Fig. 2. This chamber portion communicates with the outlet10 in the same manner as the structure of Fig. l, and the elongatedtubular portion of the tube means which leads to the chamber whichcornmunicates with outlet 10 is of the same construction asthe tube 3 ofFig. l except that it is rigidly connected to the remainder of the tubemeans. Thus, with the embodiment of Fig. 2 although the elongatedportion of the tube means through which the shaft extends cannot berem0vedthe.entire tube means can be removed by being slipped lolf from.thecylindrical portion 13 of the housing ofz'thef oscillating ,meansl 2so. that in this way the structure'- ofFig, 2.. alsovr rnayy be used.for liquid agitating .purposesas well as for pumping purposes.

A further feature shown in the embodiment of Fig. 2 is that'no'valvecorresponding to" the valve'd of Fig; l is" provided with the embodimentof Fig. 2. Instead only a liquid displacing means l5 which may beidentical with the liquid displacing means 5 is connected to the shaft 6for reciprocation therewith. This liquid displacing means 15 is initself capable of displacing the liquid upwardly along the tube becausethe liquid is not free to fall down by the liquid displacing means 15 aseasily as it is movedupwardly by this liquid displacing means, as willbe evident from the description of Fig. 3 below. With the embodiment ofFig. 2 the bottom end portion of the 4shaft which carries the liquiddisplacing means isA guided in a bore of the hub of a centering means 14which is simply in the form of an annular ring fixed to the interior ofthe tube and having a plurality of radially extending fins extendinginwardly from this annular ring and fixed to the hub formed with thebore which guides the shaft 6. The radially extending tins of thecentering means 14 are spaced from each other and do not materiallyobstruct the flow of liquid along the interior of the tube means.

As is shown in Fig. 3, the liquid displacing means 15, 16 which isidentical with the liquid displacing means 5 of Fig. 1 or 15 of Fig. 2,is in the form of a pair of annular channels of substantially paraboliccross section having their interiors directed toward the outlet of thetube means. These annular channels which constitute the liquiddisplacing means gradually reduce in cross section as they approach theinlet and gradually increase in cross l `section as they approach theoutlet, so that when thel liquid displacing means is ldisplaceddownwardly toward the inlet it presents very little resistance to theliquid, while when the displacing means is displaced upwardly toward theoutlet it will provide a great resistance to the movement of the liquidand will in fact lift the liquid toward the outlet. Thus, as the liquidldisplacing means is reciprocated back and forth it will displace theliquid.

toward theoutlet of tube means. As is apparent from Fig. 3 theparticular liquid displacing means disclosed therein includestwo annularchannels one of which is located within the other, and these annularchannels each have an outer edge portion which extends upwardly beyondits inner edge portion. A sleeve is fixed to ashaft portion whichisinturn fixed to the elongated shaft 6r which is hollow in the exampleshown in Fig. 3, and .this sleeve has lixed thereto a plural-ity of fins16 which extend radially outward'from the axis of the shaft, as isevident from Fig. 3. Thus, these fins are fixed to the shaft 6 forreciprocation therewith. The outer edges of the annular channels whichform the liquid displacing means extend rigid members' 18 are fixed toan annular ring which is' in turn fixed to the interior of the tube 3 inthe manner indicated in Fig. 3, just above the inlet of the tube. Theelongated rigid members 18 fixedly carry a pair of annular` channels 17which are identical with the annular channels of `a displacing means.Thus, while these annular channels 17 remain stationary theynevertheless act as a valve in that they render it easy for the liquidto flow upwardlyv by the channels 17 but at the same time prevent liquidfrom easily flowing downwardly past the channels 17, so that in this waythe channels 17 act inl the nature of a non-returnv valve. However, asisapf parent from the embodiment of Fig. 2, the structure of theiuvelzttit'mv may operatewithout this valve structure.

Thus, it is apparent from the above description that" the pump structureof the invention is composed of relatively simple rugged elements whichare capable of very eliiciently pumping relatively small amounts ofliquid at relatively low pressure. The material of the bellows T17 mayresist attack of all sorts of liquids and since it is not subject tofrictional rubbing it will have a life far greater than a conventionalsealing gland through which a shaft rotatably passes. Furthermore it isapparent that the above described structure can be used simply forliquid agitation purposes, if desired, and in order to accomplish thisresult it is only necessary to remove the outer casing of the pump whichguides the liquid, this removal being accomplished in a very simplemanner. With the structure of Eig. 2, the portion 13 of the housing 2 ofthe oscillating means has a suiiicient friction iit with the tube meansto carry the latter, although, if desired screws may pass through thewall of the tube means into one of the annular grooves shown in thecylindrical portion 13 in Fig. 2 in order to guarantee the connectienbetween the tube means and the oscillating means. With this latterarrangement it is only necessary to turn such a screw outwardly in orderto release the connection between the oscillating means and the tubemeans. Furthermore, it will be noted that the above described struc tureis capable of using the alternating current of the power supplied by apublic utility in order to excite the pump.

1t will be understood that each of the elements decribed above, or twoor more to-gether, may also nd a useful application in other types ofpumps diifering from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied inpumps capable of pumping as well as agitating a liquid, it is notintended to be limited to the details shown, since various modificationsand structural changes may be made without departing in any Way from thespirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A pump comprising, in combination, elongated tube means having aninlet end and being provided with a chamber distant from said inlet end,said tube means having an outlet communicating with said chamber so thatwhen liquid flows along the interior of said tube means from said inletto said outlet thereof the liquid ows through said chamber; oscillatingmeans carried by said tube means and including'a housing having a highthermal conductivity and defining part of said chamber; a shaft iixed tosaid oscillating means to be reciprocated along its axis thereby andextending from said oscillating means along the interior of said tubemeans to a point adjacent said inlet end of said tube means; sealingmeans connected to said housing and said shaft for preventing entranceof liquid into said housing; liquid displacing means carried by saidshaft adjacent said inlet end of said tube means in the interior of andfor movement relative to the latter for displacing liquid toward saidchamber when said shaft is reciprocated by said oscillating means; andmeans removably connecting a portion of said tube means in which saidliquid displacing means is located from the Iremainder of said tubemeans so that when said portion of said tube means is removed from theremainder of said tube means, said liquid displacing means may be usedto agitate a liquid.

2. A pump as defined in claim l wherein said liquid displacing meansbeing compo-sed of elements which gradually reduce in crosssection asthey approach said inlet and which gradually increase in cross-sectionas they approach said outlet, so that when the liquid displacing meansis reciprocated in said tube means toward said inlet thereof said liquiddisplacing means will provide substantially less resistance to themovement of the liquid in said tube means than when said liquiddisplacing means is displaced toward said outlet end of said tube means,

3. A pump as recited in claim 2 and wherein said liquid displacing meansincludes at least one annular member through which the axis of saidshaft passes, said annular member having a substantially parabolic crosssection and having an end portion adjacent said inlet which is of asmaller width than the opposite end portion thereof.

4. A pump as recited in claim 2 and wherein said liquid displacing meansis in the form of an annular channel who-se interior is directed towardssaid outlet end of said tube means, said channel having a substantiallyparabolic cross section and being located about the axis of said shaft.

5. A pump as recited in claim 2 and wherein said liquid displacing meansincludes a plurality of fins fixed to and extending radially from saidshaft; and at least one annular channel of substantially parabolic crosssection located about said shaft and having its interior directed towardsaid outlet of said tube means, said channel having one edge portionwhich extends beyond the other edge portion thereof and which is xed tosaid n.

6. A pump comprising, in combination, oscillating means including ahousing of high thermal conductivity and having an outer cylindricalsurface portion; elongated tube means having a cylindrical portion inwhich said housing is received with a close lit so that said housingforms with a portion of said tube means a chamber defined in part bysaid housing, said tube means having an outlet communicating with saidchamber and an elongated portion also communicating with said chamberand terminating at an end distant from said chamber with an inlet intosaid tube means; a shaft fixed to said oscillating means to bereciprocated along its axis thereby and extending from said oscillatingmeans through said chamber and along the interior of said tube meanstowards an inlet thereof; sealing means connected to said housing andsaid shaft for preventing entrance of liquid into said housing; andliquid displacing means carried by said shaft adjacent said inlet ofsaid tube means in the interior of the latter so that when said shaft isreciprocated along its axis said liquid displacing means will displaceliquid along the interior of said tube means towards said outletthereof, said housing with said oscillating means being easily removablefrom said cylindrical portion of said elongated tube means so that saidliquid displacing means may be used to agitate a liquid when saidhousing is removed from said tube means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS750,115 Orr Jan. 19, 1904 FOREIGN PATENTS 494,649 Germany Mar. 26, 1930808,737 France Feb. 13, 1937 850,942 France Dec. 29, 1939

